One problem shooters (e.g., hunters, sharpshooters, police, and military personnel) face is keeping a weapon at the ready (e.g. shouldered) for long periods of time. For example, a hunter may need to keep a rifle or shotgun shouldered for a long period of time while waiting for a target (e.g. a game animal). Similarly, sharpshooters may need to keep a rifle shouldered for long period of time while observing a potential target. A shooter may need to eat, drink, operate a game call, communicate via an electronic device, reposition some piece of equipment, or reposition himself. All of these activities require the shooter to take his hands off of the gun which, traditionally, means putting the gun down. That is, the shooter must lay the gun on the ground or lay the gun in his lap to complete the activity. Thus, shooters are frequently not ready to shoot when necessary. For example, a hunter will often have his gun in his lap or laying beside him while operating a game call when a game animal comes into view. The hunter must then scramble for his gun which will typically cause the game animal to flush (i.e., run or fly so as to avoid the hunter) resulting in the hunter missing the game animal or completely missing the opportunity to shoot at the game animal.
Further, comfort is a major factor in how long a shooter can maintain a weapon at the ready. For ground hunters (e.g., turkey hunters), the shooter (i.e. hunter) will typically place decoys in a clearing and sit in cover (e.g., in the woods) while calling game. Typically, the shooter will sit at the base of a tree and lean against the tree. However, because the base of the tree is at an incline, the shooter will tend to slide down the tree which puts the shooter in an uncomfortable position. Thus, the shooter must frequently reposition himself which often results in noises and motions that scare game animals and may prevent the shooter from being able to successfully harvest his prey.